After fighting in the middle of the night, Zhao Bin slowly woke up from his sleep near noon. His white body curled up in his arms, as if he sensed something, and Linger slowly opened his eyes.
"My lord, are you awake?"
Zhao Bin looked at Ling'er in his arms without saying anything. He gently raised her chin and their lips touched again. Just when Zhao Bin was about to get on the horse again, Ling'er said softly: "Your Majesty, you don't want it anymore. You tortured this slave yesterday. I’m too tired. How about I call Cui’er?”
Zhao Bin chuckled and said: "Forget it, I'll let you go today and I'll deal with you another day. Get up and change your clothes."
"It's the prince."
After washing up, Cui'er came to the main room with the meal: "Your Majesty, let's have a meal."
Zhao Bin took Ling'er and sat in front of the table. He raised his eyes and looked at the food that was served. He suddenly felt sick: "Tui'er, why is it mutton and mutton soup again? Do we have nothing else?"
Cui'er said helplessly: "Your Majesty, our palace now only has a lot of beef and mutton, or radish and cabbage. There is nothing else in this winter."
"Lao Wu, Lao Wu!"
Wang Wu, who heard the shouting, hurriedly ran in from the door: "Your Majesty, where is the little one?"
"Have Lao Wu had breakfast?"
"My lord, it's already noon!"
"Um, have you had lunch?"
Wang Wu looked at the beef and mutton on the table, shuddered and said, "Your Majesty, I'm not hungry."
"Forget it, I won't eat it. Ling'er, just eat it."
"This slave doesn't want to eat it either," Ling'er said with a coquettish look on her face.
"Why don't I ask the dining room to prepare another dish for the prince?" Cuier said, looking at the two people who had been working hard all night but had no appetite.
"No need, are Cao Li and the others here?"
"Here we are, working in the front office."
"Let's go and have a look."
Several people came to the front hall from the backyard and smelled a strange fragrance as soon as they entered the house.
"What does it smell like?" Zhao Bin asked curiously
When several people saw Zhao Bin coming, they stood up and saluted and said: "I have met the prince."
"You guys don't have to be polite. What does this house smell like? It's so fragrant."
Yang Guangtai, the treasurer of Yancheng, picked up the tea bowl on the table and said: "Your Majesty, let's talk about jujube tea. In the golden autumn, Quan Zi beat some red dates. He picked some golden chrysanthemums and dried them in the sun. In winter, he roasted the red dates by the fire. Now, if you make tea with this golden chrysanthemum, it tastes pretty good."
Zhao Bin put his nose forward and smelled it, and suddenly felt refreshed: "Not bad, not bad. Treasurer Yang can bring some to me later."
"Your Majesty likes it. I will send someone back to get it." Yang Guangtai said with excitement.
"There's no rush, just bring it when you come back that day. Okay, let's talk about it, are there any important things to deal with today." After saying that, Zhao Bin sat down in his seat.
"Your Majesty, the monthly wages of the workers have basically been calculated and can be distributed at any time. It is easier to say about the salt refinery and iron smelting plants. The workers are all in the city. How will the workers be distributed to the charcoal diggers in the west and the mining in the north?" Yang Guangtai put down his hand. Chawan said. He is the treasurer of Yancheng and is in charge of money and food. It is natural for him to handle this matter.
"We have registered before, and sent people to notify the villages and towns to ask their families to come to Yancheng to collect them." Zhao Bin said.
"It's the prince. In addition, the grain stored in the treasury is being consumed too fast. This year, the prince has reduced taxes and rents, so the taxes and grain collected by the treasury are much less than in previous years. In addition, the current consumption of workers is borne by the treasury. If this continues, it may be up to two years. The food will be used up in three months, so we won’t be able to wait for the summer grain harvest." Yang Guangtai continued.
"Mining is physical work for workers, and it's winter again. The physical exertion is too great, so the rations cannot be reduced. I have sent people to find a solution to the food issue. In the first year, we invested a relatively large amount, and we will wait till next spring for plowing. After the area is expanded, our food production will increase, and then we will not have to worry about running out of food." Zhao Bin said slowly.
"It's the prince." After Yang Guangtai finished speaking, he sat back in his seat.
He Miao, the chief secretary of Yancheng, stood up and said: "Your Majesty, the government official came to report this morning. The brick kiln owner came to the government office to ask what to do with the bricks fired before?"
"How many bricks are left?"
"There are not many left, about a dozen carts left. After freezing, the soil easily freezes when mixed with water, making it impossible to roll the bricks, so the brick kiln stopped firing."
"Sir He, order people to move everything to the upper reaches of the Baihe River. Later, I will give you a blueprint and recruit some people. Let's build a greenhouse." Zhao Bin thought for a moment and said. After eating beef and mutton, your body will smell like sheep.
"Your Majesty, what does a greenhouse mean?"
Zhao Bin asked Cui'er to go back to the room to get paper and pen, and drew a rough outline on the paper, including fire wall, columns, arches, straw curtains, and vents. After Zhao Bin finished drawing, he explained to everyone one by one how to build it and how to build it. to use. In fact, he didn't know anything about how to grow greenhouses, but he knew the basic principles. To put it bluntly, he just needed to build a greenhouse, use the greenhouse to grow vegetables, and then find some experienced farmers with experience in growing vegetables. The reason is very simple, and everyone will understand it as soon as they hear it, but no one knows whether this matter can be successful.
"Master He, we must do this as soon as possible and strive to build these five greenhouses within seven days."
"It's the prince. I'm humble enough to arrange the manpower right now." After He Miao finished speaking, he immediately drafted a notice and then went out with the drawings.
After He Miao left, Zhao Bin looked at Cao Li and said, "Master Cao, how is the situation at the smelting workshop? How many farm tools have been cast?"
"Go back to your Majesty, as per your instructions, the smelter has always been working in two shifts: day shift and night shift. The casting speed of farm tools is very fast, and the warehouse cannot hold so many farm tools, so when a batch comes out, I will arrange for people to distribute it immediately. Now there are already One-third of the farmers have been allocated farm tools, and we should be able to basically complete the work in the coming days."
"Well, we must step up the production of farm tools. After the farm tools are manufactured, we still have to prepare to guard against the Jie tribe. This year, because of the conflict between the Huns and the Jie tribe at the border, they did not invade southward. But once they reach a reconciliation, the Jie tribe will The clansmen are bound to go south.”
"I understand, I understand. Do you need to prepare anything during this time?"
"Order people to look for wood that can be used for arrows, and then organize people to cut down the wood and prepare arrow shafts in advance." Zhao Bin said softly.
Cao Li was startled at first and looked up at the three people behind Zhao Bin, a guard and two maids. Yang Guangtai on the side also looked panicked.
Cao Li asked softly: "Does Your Majesty know that privately manufacturing weapons is a serious crime?"
"A big crime? My two lords, you know better than me how many people have died in Yancheng over the years. I don't want to have the Jie clan's knife hanging around my neck one day. You survived the last time the Jie clan broke the city, but next time, Who of you can guarantee that you and your family can survive safely? If you want to survive, you must become strong."
Cao Li wiped the sweat from his face and continued to ask: "But what if the court finds out?"
"We are just preparing some materials now. We haven't reached that point yet. Some wood can't mean anything. You can call it an arrow shaft or firewood. Besides, we are now a cash cow in the hands of the father, and the father is still pointing at us. salt to make money, so he will know how to do it.”
"But we don't have so many craftsmen right now," Yang Guangtai interjected.
"The requirements for ordinary wooden poles are not that high. An ordinary carpenter will suffice. If Yancheng does not have one, hire one from the surrounding areas. Anyway, no one knows what these wooden poles are used for until the last process is completed. In addition, I have already ordered When people buy some slaves in other areas, some things still need to be done covertly."
"Buying slaves? Your Majesty doesn't know. Since ancient times, the people of Yancheng have sold themselves as slaves elsewhere in order to make a living. Very few people come to Yancheng to sell themselves as slaves." Yang Guangtai sighed and said.
"The past cannot be undone, but the future can be changed. The absence of the past does not mean the absence of the future. Moreover, in this world, for some people, there is no complete choice. Okay, I have left this matter to others, so you can do my best for the time being. Just the few things I just mentioned will do.”
"Yes, Your Majesty," Cao Li and Yang Guangtai responded.
